U.S. District Court Judge David Proctor also ordered that once James David Kircus completes his sentence he is to serve three years under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office. While on probation, Kircus is to participate in mental health, drug and alcohol, and vocational rehabilitation programs, the judge ordered.

Kircus, 55, was convicted March 4 of one count of knowingly possessing an unregistered destructive device (pipe bomb) in a case. The conviction is believed by his lawyers and federal authorities to be the first time someone has been convicted of possessing a pipe bomb made from a modified air bag cylinder.

Judge Proctor today also ordered that once he finishes his sentence, Kircus is to stay away from one woman in particular.

Senior ATF Special Agent Jay Bagwell, who was at today's sentencing, had testified at the trial that one air bag cylinder had been fully turned into a pipe bomb, another was in the process, and more than five other unmodified cylinders were found.

Kircus was charged in October 2013 just as he was completing a 7-year-three-month sentence for his guilty plea related to making pipe bombs and possession of firearms by a convicted felon.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Rick Burgess, who was appointed to represent Kircus after his conviction, had argued for a three-year sentence. Burgess declined comment after the sentencing.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Wilson Hunter argued that wasn't enough. He told the judge that somebody with that kind of hate and vitriolic behavior and who had made bombs, needed a long sentence to protect the public.

One of Kircus' attorneys had argued at trial the device was not a weapon and told jurors it was instead "a big firecracker."

"Improvised explosive devices can maim and kill. They are illegal," U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance said in a prepared statement. "Mr. Kircus was working at an auto salvage business in Birmingham when he took a vehicle airbag, broke it down and reconfigured it into a dangerous weapon containing a high-powered explosive. This was a serious crime met today with serious punishment," she said.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Glenn Anderson, said that ATF's "Frontline" model of reducing violent crime, along with the collaborative efforts of our local partners, led to the success of this investigation.